I rarely allow others to guest blog on this site. However, this individual comes SO highly recommended and delivers such amazing content, I made an exception. As part of the release of her new book Big Change, Small Groups. 4 Ideas To Help You Lead Adult Small Groups, Heather Zempel has written a post for this site’s readers that every leader should read.
Heather’s content is so good Orange has built an entire curriculum around out. Click HERE to read more. Anything Orange puts out is amazing and this is as well.
If you are unfamiliar with Heather, you should get to know her. Heather is the Discipleship Pastor and Campus Ministries Director at National Community Church in Washington, DC. She is the author of several books and enjoys watching SEC football (now that’s a plus!) with her family. The following is her insightful article:
5 Powerful Ways to Invest in Others
There are never-ending demands on a leader’s time, energy, and attention. It is tempting to invest the best of ourselves into what is urgent and “in our face” at the moment. However, the most impactful, rewarding, and beneficial investments we can make are not in the projects we must complete, but the people we have the opportunity to develop.
Here are five ways you can begin investing in others today.
- Celebrate Their Wins
When I was ten years old, I played a lot of touch football with the neighborhood kids. Mike Mathews, one of the dads, often took the role of all-time quarterback. He consistently and skillfully set me up in the end zone for touchdown passes. In retrospect, I am sure he was doing the same thing for all the other kids, but I felt special. It seemed as though he took a special interest in giving me the opportunity to experience small wins, and as a result, two things happened. First, it built confidence in me and a desire to win again. Second, it grew my trust in Mike. Over time, I continued to see Mike’s wisdom and engagement in other areas of my life—path of study, career choices, life decisions.
Celebrating wins is one way to invest in others. Celebrate what you want to replicate. Lee Cockerell served as the executive vice-president of operations for Walt Disney World Resort for ten years. Part of his role was to create magical experiences for guests by encouraging and empowering Disney cast members to provide excellent and unexpected customer service. Cockerell was inspired by the out-of-the-box thinking and process design that led to the creation of Tabasco’s green sauce. Because Disney also valued innovation and risk, Lee would award Green Tabasco awards to any Disney cast members who “demonstrated the courage to try new things.” It was a small financial investment, but it was a fun way to celebrate innovation, creativity, and risk-taking.
When you celebrate wins, you also increase your influence. Investing through celebrating will grow the volume of your voice in the ears of your team. When they know you genuinely celebrate their wins, it makes them more open to corrections and guidance you may need to give in other situations. They will value your voice and seek it out instead of evading it or dreading it.
- Speak Their Appreciation Language
In the best-selling book The Five Love Languages, author Gary Chapman identifies five primary ways in which people give and receive love: words of affirmation, quality time, physical touch, acts of service, and gifts. While the giving and receiving of love is not necessarily the greatest need within a team or a workplace, the consistent and effective communication of appreciation is absolutely critical.
I believe those same languages are applicable in the area of communicating our appreciation to those we lead. Some need to be praised privately or publicly for their accomplishments. Others are fueled by spending time with you over coffee or a meal or an extended conversation. Perhaps some are motivated by a high five or slap on the back. Another might feel most appreciated when you jump in to help a project cross the finish line. Small gifts speak appreciation most loudly to others. The dollar amount is less important than the thought. The simple Green Tabasco award at Disney is a small investment to say “thanks” for invaluable customer service from its cast members.
You will have one or two languages that you speak most fluently. But ask your team members how they hear appreciation most clearly, and start finding small ways to express it. Small investments of appreciation build trust and increase performance.
- Give Constructive Feedback
Another way to invest in your team is to give consistent and constructive feedback. The annual review or quarterly review should not be the only time that your team hears your perspective on their wins, their growth areas, and their goals. Feedback should be consistent, predictable, and helpful. Feedback is also an investment opportunity because it demonstrates that you took the time to notice someone and invested your thinking and action into helping them improve.
In the One Minute Manager, Ken Blanchard suggests finding regular times to give a one-minute praise, a one-minute correction, and one-minute review of goals. Whether it happens daily or weekly, find a regular and repeatable rhythm for giving quick feedback to your team. It helps them win, it helps them grow, and it communicates value.
- Show Up Randomly
Another way to invest in others is to show up randomly. Your team expects you to show up for meetings, performance reviews, project brainstorms, and when you need to communicate critical information. But how can you show up randomly?
Ten years ago, I was walking through the airport at 6:30 a.m. to board a plane for Chicago to speak at a conference. It was a conference that had inspired me ten years earlier. To be invited to speak on that platform was a bucket-list dream, and I was equal parts nervous, excited, scared, and confident. The phone rang. And it was Mike Mathews. He just wanted to let me know he was thinking about me and praying for me as I prepared to speak. Once again, he was celebrating a win. But this time it was unexpected. It was random.
When my husband and I navigated a pretty confusing time of infertility, I only shared with a very small circle. A couple years later, I received a card in the mail from my friend Nina. It simply said, “I’m still praying.” That was it. No lengthy prayers. No theological discourse. Not even a Bible verse. Just a simple reminder that I was not alone. Many years and a toddler later, I still have that note. There is something about it that brings me courage and builds my faith when I go through any kind of challenging time.
When we invest randomly, we make impressions permanently.
Random does not mean haphazard. It simply means showing up when it’s not expected.
It’s the text to your team member before they make the big presentation.
It’s remembering their kid’s birthday or showing up to cheer them on at a ballgame or recital.
It’s stopping by their desk to leave them a sticky note with a quick word of encouragement.
It’s giving them a bottle of Green Tabasco sauce as an acknowledgment of their creativity and innovation.
- Share Your Network and Opportunities
Finally, share your network and opportunities. One of the best investments you can make in others is to give them access to experiences and introductions to people who have shaped, inspired, and invested in you.
Practically speaking, I never travel alone. Whether to a conference, to a speaking event, or even to a conversation with a mentor, I try to bring someone along. When someone travels with me, it gives them a front-row seat to my character. It’s one thing for me to talk about integrity and humility; it’s another thing for them to witness my reaction to a third delayed flight or to fame or failure on a platform. Traveling together also gives additional time for unhurried conversation—to hear stories, to share dreams, to trouble-shoot and coach. Traveling together also creates space for shared experiences that build relationships, memories, and joint learning. Finally, it gives your team access to the people who have invested in you.
When we celebrate, appreciate, give feedback, show up randomly, and share our network and opportunities, those investments over time will yield more committed and productive teams. It also leads to higher levels of loyalty and satisfaction from the people we lead. Small investments over extended time build trust, strong cultures, and a sense of fun.
Author Bio
Heather Zempel is the Discipleship Pastor and Campus Ministries Director at National Community Church in Washington, DC. She is the author of several books, including Big Change, Small Groups. 4 Ideas To Help You Lead Adult Small Groups. She lives on Capitol Hill with her husband, Ryan, and energetic daughter, Sawyer. She loves growing as a leader, discipling the next generation, and watching SEC football.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @heatherzempel